Hi! I'm Elena! Welcome to my travel blog Creativelena.com.
For me, it is all about “life-seeing instead of sightseeing”: Join me as I create, eat & live my way around the world. Curious?
*Check out my book, “The Creative Traveler’s Handbook”, for learning more about what we mean by creative travel. Travelling means the world to me, makes me fit for everday life and sometimes, I trust, also calmer on the inside. Read this blog with a smile, share what you love and remember to check back regularly: After all, when was the last time you did something for the first time?
Looking at the colours of Almería contained in this post, you will never believe me to be talking to you about the “driest place in Europe”. Located at the south-eastern edge of Spain, Almería county is bordered only by the glistening Mediterranean Sea to the south, as well as the mighty, often snow-covered tips of […]
The Way. Most people ask me, “Why are you here?” Like, “What’s your story? And where are you from?” Some do not ask. They rather choose to be temporary companions, sharing just little stories before moving on. Some, however, stay with you along the Way, even becoming a friend for life. Walking the Camino […]
Why La Bisbal, and not Barcelona? Why Costa Brava for creative travel, you may ask? “Well, Elena. Did you know that La Bisbal d’Empordà has the highest per capita percentage of artists after Barcelona?!”, Anna tells me enthusiastically, and smiles. Anna: She is the most warm-hearted, talented, and creative person you can imagine to meet, and […]
The backcountry of any popular travel destination, such as Costa Brava, northern Catalonia in this case, is where the real magic happens. Countless creative travel experiences have led me to believe so. Or did you know you can become “a medieval travel writer” in the Pyrenees? Make your own organic paper to suit, in the popular lakeside town of Banyoles? […]
The world gets bigger as you travel. Have you ever heard of, or thought about, this sentence? It has become so true for me, whenever I think of travelling these days. And especially true, when it comes to visiting a certain destination repeatedly. Like Costa Brava. Having learned the local language Catalan, spent lots and lots of […]
Imagine this: Four girls, two from Germany, two from Austria. The “north” heading “south”, meeting up to travel in a fun, creative way #inCostaBrava. I mean, how do you possibly explain to your friends, families, and German-speaking blog readers, that what you do as a creative traveller in Catalonia, has to do with painting the butts […]
“You look so different”, I compliment my friend Klaus back home in Austria, “have you lost weight?! I feel like I’ve just gained at least fifteen kilos, travelling #inCostaBrava for the past two weeks”, I add, laughing. Incredible how my foodie travel writer friends Amber & Eric have been able to literally wine & dine themselves around Costa […]
Exploring Costa Brava is a love story for the senses. If you have never ventured north out of Barcelona, you don’t know what paradise truly means. Because it does exist. Right there, between the sea and the mountains, where the soaring peaks of the Pyrenees drop down to bow in front of the “wild coast”, the […]
Followers of my blog will know about my undisputed love for Catalonia, and especially, Costa Brava. Thanks to having found a family home here and learning the language in virtually a few weeks, I have since felt deeply attached to “les meves terres catalanes” – my Catalan homeland. From planning creative travel projects around Catalonia, to speaking at […]
“The Way is tough .. The Way is rough .. The Way is … exactly what you make of it.” Like in real life. My journey along the Portuguese Way of St. James (13 days, 260 kilometres walking) has changed my life. Once more. In a very healthy way, I believe. I know, for instance, that I do […]